Georgia Co-op's Solar Energy Resource Center

Midway, Ga.-based Coastal Electric Cooperative’s new office in Richmond Hill has everything you’d expect—walk-in lobby, drivethrough window, and night-payment box. But there’s something more that illustrates how co-ops and the energy industry are changing: a solar resource center.

“We want to be a trusted information resource for our members who are considering solar energy as an option for their home. Whether they are seeking information for on-site rooftop solar or subscribing to Coastal Electric’s own cooperative solar farm, our Solar Energy Resource Center will become a free one-stop resource for our members,” Coastal Electric CEO Whit Hollowell said at the ribbon cutting on February 1.

The distribution system serves parts of four counties south and west of Savannah, roughly 573 square miles in one of the fastest-growing areas of the South. It has about 17,000 members.

The solar array the co-op built at its headquarters last year is rated at 120 kW. Additional solar capacity comes from Green Power EMC’s 20-MW purchase of the output from a solar project at Hazlehurst, Ga.

This 20 MW ground-mounted solar project near Hazlehurst, Ga. is one of the largest solar generating facilities in Georgia. The array occupies approximately 135 acres and incorporates over 87,000 solar modules. It generates more than 43,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable electricity annually for Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia Electric Membership Corporations. (Photo courtesy Coastal Electric)